Abstract
Levels of news media trust have been steadily declining in the United States since the 1970s and frequent attacks against the press have characterized the first year of the Trump presidency. This study focuses on the relationship between media trust, news repertoires and support for Trump. Our goal was two-fold: first, we tested how individual predispositions influence patterns of media consumption (repertoires), which in turn predict news trust. Then, we analyze how attitudes about Trump relate to repertoires and media trust. Survey results revealed four repertoires: low news users/some local news, news junkies, conservative news users, and mainstream news users. News junkies and mainstream news users trusted the media more, while conservative news users had the lowest levels of trust. Support for Trump is the strongest predictor of news distrust, even controlling for conservatism and news repertoires. Findings suggest that the impact of a White House that is hostile to the press goes beyond the way partisanship affects media trust.
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